United PlusPoints: What They Are, How to Use Them

United PlusPoints are an upgrade currency that upper-tier elites on United Airlines earn upon reaching elite qualification thresholds for Premier Platinum and Premier 1K status. PlusPoints can be used to upgrade a flight to a better cabin, or they can be exchanged for alternatives like gifted status, United MileagePlus miles and United TravelBank credit.

If you're looking to upgrade a flight, keep in mind that eligible elites can use PlusPoints to upgrade not only their own flights but also flights for any other traveler — even if they're not traveling together.

You can check the number of PlusPoints you have by navigating to the MileagePlus section on the United website or app.

» Learn more: Valuable benefits of United Airlines credit cards

How to upgrade United flights with PlusPoints

To determine the amount of PlusPoints needed to upgrade a United Airlines flight, you'll have to factor in the route, the cabin you booked and the cabin you would like to be upgraded to. For example, a domestic flight will typically cost you 20 PlusPoints to upgrade from economy to first class. However, you might need 40 or 80 PlusPoints to upgrade from economy to Polaris business class on an international flight, depending on your booked fare class.

Here are the types of upgrades you can request based on the number of PlusPoints required:

10 PlusPoints

• Premium Plus to United Business on short-haul flights.

20 PlusPoints

• Economy to United First or United Business on short-haul flights.

• Economy to Premium Plus on all flights.

30 PlusPoints

• Premium Plus to Polaris business class on long-haul flights.

40 PlusPoints

• Economy to Polaris business class on long-haul flights (fare classes Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V and W).

80 PlusPoints

• Discounted economy fares to Polaris business class on long-haul flights (fare classes S, T, L, K and G).

The number of PlusPoints required to upgrade long-haul flights depends on the cabin and the fare class you booked. Keep in mind that basic economy fares are ineligible for upgrades, even if they're booked into an eligible fare class.

One perk of PlusPoints upgrades is that the pricing is not additive. That means if you're traveling on an itinerary with connections, you don't need to pay the amount of PlusPoints needed to upgrade each segment. Instead, the total amount of PlusPoints you'll be charged will be capped at the highest upgrade you receive, as long as all the upgrades are made using the same request.

For example, if I was flying from Newark to Singapore and connecting in San Francisco on a regular economy fare, I could upgrade both flights to business class for only 40 PlusPoints. If my upgraded didn't clear for the San Francisco to Singapore flight, I would only be charged 20 PlusPoints.

Skip Waitlist

If standard upgrade space isn't available, Premier 1Ks can choose to pay even higher rates to skip the waitlist. However, this is available only on select routes and when your flight is more than 30 days from departure. However, these upgrades are only available for your flights, as well as any travel companions on the same reservation. They're also non-refundable, and they can't be transferred to a different flight if your travel plans change.

As a Premier 1K, I've rarely seen the "Skip Waitlist" option show up on my itineraries, and when I have seen them, the prices have been significantly higher. For example, on a Premium Plus booking from the U.S. to Asia, United wanted 110 PlusPoints to skip the waitlist and confirm a seat in Polaris business class — more than 360% times the standard amount of PlusPoints to upgrade.

» Learn more: The complete guide to United MileagePlus

Using United PlusPoints on partner airlines

In addition to upgrading United flights, MileagePlus elites can use PlusPoints to upgrade flights operated by ANA, Copa and Lufthansa on paid tickets (not flights booked using award miles). Upgrades are valid to the next cabin (economy to business class; business class to first class) and cost 40 PlusPoints per flight segment.

To apply for a PlusPoints upgrade, you'll need to book an eligible fare class. Each partner airline has a slightly different list of eligible fare classes:

• ANA: B, C, D, E, G, J, M, U, Y and Z.

• Copa: A, B, E, H, K, L, M, O, Q, S, T, U, V, W and Y.

• Lufthansa: B, C, D, E, G, H, J, M, Q, U and Y.

» Learn more: How do I use United PlusPoints?

How to exchange PlusPoints for other perks

In 2025, United introduced the ability to exchange PlusPoints for other options beyond upgrading flights. While it's always nice to have more options, travelers will typically get more value out of their PlusPoints by using them for flight upgrades.

Here are the options that you can exchange your PlusPoints for:

• Gifting Premier status.

• Premier qualifying points.

• Premier qualifying flights.

• TravelBank cash.

• MileagePlus miles.

However, there's a lot of fine print to be aware of. For starters, you will need to exchange your PlusPoints by March 31 of the year prior to their expiration date; if you miss the deadline, you'll only be able to use them for upgrades. For example, PlusPoints earned in 2025 will carry an expiration date of January 31, 2027. That means you have until March 31, 2026, to exchange PlusPoints.

Additionally, you can only exchange up to 600 PlusPoints per expiration date, and some redemption options have a separate cap on the number of PlusPoints you can exchange. See the maximums in the chart below:

Gifting Premier status

Using PlusPoints to gift elite status can be a great way to exchange your PlusPoints, especially for family members who don't always travel with you. PlusPoints can be used to gift status from entry-level Premier Silver to top-tier Premier 1K:

• Premier Silver: 40 PlusPoints (at most three times).

• Premier Gold: 100 PlusPoints (at most twice).

• Premier Platinum: 440 PlusPoints (at most once).

• Premier 1K: 600 PlusPoints (at most once).

Premier Silver is fairly basic, with most benefits matched by carrying a United credit card. However, once you start looking at Premier Gold (which also grants Star Alliance Gold status and entry to Star Alliance business class lounges), things get a little more interesting.

Note that gifting 1K status will immediately hit the 600 PlusPoints cap and preclude you from any other exchanges. Gifted status is valid until the PlusPoints expiration date.

Exchanging for additional PQP and PQF

You can also exchange PlusPoints for PQP and PQF, which can be a helpful option for those close to reaching the next elite threshold. However, these perks don't come cheap.

For PQP, you can get 100 PQP for 10 PlusPoints, up to a maximum of 1,600 PQP for 160 PlusPoints.

For PQF, you'll need to spend 160 PlusPoints to get 2 PQF or 320 PlusPoints to get 4 PQF, the maximum allowed.

In some cases, you can choose to apply the PQP or PQF to the current or following calendar year. For example, if I exchange my PlusPoints earned in 2025 by December 2025, I can choose to apply them to my elite earnings in 2025 or to the following year. If I exchange those PlusPoints in 2026, they would automatically go toward my elite earnings in 2026.

Exchanging for TravelBank cash or United miles

For TravelBank cash, 10 PlusPoints will get you $20, up to a maximum of $200 for 100 PlusPoints. Meanwhile, 10 PlusPoints will net you 1,500 miles, up to a maximum of 15,000 miles for 100 PlusPoints.

Keep in mind that TravelBank cash received via PlusPoints exchange carry a one-year expiration date, which differs from the typical five-year expiration date when you deposit cash into your United TravelBank.

These are not great exchange rates, with a PlusPoint essentially valued at $2 or 15 miles.

How to earn United PlusPoints

United PlusPoints are awarded to United Premier Platinum and 1K elite members upon earning elite status — and then as a bonus for continuing to fly United.

Upon achieving United Premier Platinum status, you'll receive 40 PlusPoints. That's enough to upgrade from economy to first class on a short-haul round-trip flight or from economy to premium economy on a long-haul round-trip.

If you reach United Premier 1K elite status, United will reward you another 280 PlusPoints. After achieving Premier 1K status, you'll continue earning 20 PlusPoints for every 3,000 Premier qualifying points that you earn beyond the amount required for 1K status.

PQP earned from spending on a United credit card does not count toward earning additional PlusPoints, unless you have the United Presidential Plus Card, which is no longer available to new applicants.

How to use United PlusPoints

It's easy to use your PlusPoints via the United website or app. Once you've accessed the PlusPoints dashboard, you can select whether you want to exchange PlusPoints or use them to upgrade flights.

If you choose to exchange PlusPoints, you'll be taken to a page that shows you how many eligible PlusPoints you have for exchange and the list of options available.

For those looking to upgrade flights, you'll be taken to a list of your active United itineraries. From there, you can choose to apply PlusPoints by navigating to the flight upgrades section.

United MileagePlus members with PlusPoints in their account can check for upgrade availability at the time of booking. Start an advanced search, scroll down to the "Upgrades, certificates, and promotion codes" section and select "PlusPoints upgrades" as an option.

Once your flight is ticketed, you can request a PlusPoints upgrade right on United's website for flights on ANA, Copa or Lufthansa. However, if you booked a United codeshare flight (meaning the flight number on your reservation starts with "UA") on ANA- or Lufthansa-operated flights, you'll need to call United to request an upgrade.

Waitlist your PlusPoints request

If upgrade space isn't available at the time of your request, you can join the waitlist. Only flights on United, ANA and Lufthansa are eligible to waitlist; upgrades for Copa flights can't be waitlisted.

PlusPoints for requests on United flights are deducted when the upgrade clears, so you can request as many upgrades as you want. However, for flights on partner airlines, United will deduct the required PlusPoints at the time of your waitlist request. PlusPoints will be automatically refunded to your account 24-48 hours after check-in if your upgrade doesn't clear.

Since your PlusPoints could be tied up for a while, pay attention to expiration dates to make sure you'll still have time to use your points if the upgrade doesn't clear.